I don’t respond.
“Honestly, I’m impressed,” he continues, watching me through the rearview mirror. “Not by her—by you. Never thought I’d see the day someone put their hands on you and lived to tell about it.”
I cut him a look. “Do you want to test your luck?”
He grins, unfazed. “I’m just saying, boss—this is new.This is not the usual you.”
He’s right. That’s the problem.
I should have seen it coming—the resistance, the fire.I did see it coming.I just let her get away with it.
BecauseI fucking liked it.
I exhale sharply. “How’s the guest list?”
Arseny flicks his cigarette lighter, the flame briefly illuminating his sharp features.
“Tight. No surprises. No enemies.” He pauses, tilting his head slightly.“Well. Except your bride, obviously.”
I huff out a laugh. The first one since she walked out of that restaurant.
“And my stepmother?”
“Didn’t make the cut.”
“Filipp?”
Arseny snorts. “Boss, come on. That’s insulting. You know I’m top-notch when it comes to keeping thewrong kind of peopleout of your wedding.” He taps the steering wheel. “Filipp’s been trying to undermine you foryears.If he were so much as sniffing around the venue, I’d know before he even stepped onto the sidewalk.”
I nod. “Good. The elders?”
Arseny exhales. “Front row seats. Wouldn’t miss it. They backed your father, they’ll back you. They want to see the nextPakhanwith his ‘respectable’ wife.”
Because that’s what this is. A show. A spectacle. A performance of power.
Let them watch.
Let them all see that Konstantin Belov takes what he wants.
“And the kids?” Arseny asks, giving me a quick side-eye. The smirk is back.
I glance at him, waiting.
“The little royals accepting their new queen?”
I huff out a laugh. “Lev doesn’t care.”
Arseny snorts. “Figures.”
Lev, at 12, is all fire and impulse. When I told him about the wedding, he crossed his arms and asked, “Is she nice? Or is she going to be one of those evil stepmothers like in the movies?”
Before I could answer, he followed up with, “Wait—does this mean she can make us do homework?”
And when I said no, he just shrugged and muttered, “Cool, whatever. Can I still go to soccer practice?”
“But Nikolai…” I let the words linger, watching the buildings blur past. He’s the opposite of Lev.
Where Lev throws his emotions out into the world, Nikolai buries his. He keeps his concerns locked deep inside, where no one can touch them.
